Cabinet



y 27, 1941- H. B. KINN EY 2,243,279

CABINET Filed March is, 1940 INVENTOR Patented May 27, 1941 UNITED ST Tss PATENT orric 1 Claim.

This invention relates to depositories in which articles may be stored.

It is an object of the invention to provide a cabinet particularly adapted to storing bread and which will retard the evaporation of moisture from the bread so that the latter may not quickly become dry and stale.

Another object of the invention is to provide, in a cabinet divided into compartments which are adapted to receive stacks of sliced bread, means movable in the compartments for compressing the volumetric size of the compartments as numbers of the slices are removed so as to progressively reduce the quantity of ambient air in contact with the bread thus retarding evaporation of moisture from the bread.

A further object of the invention is to provide, in a cabinet of the class described, weighted means engaging a stack of sliced bread for forcibly pressing the confronting broad surfaces of the slices together so as to prevent the exposure of the said broad surfaces of the slices to the ambient air.

Still another object of the invention is to provide, in a cabinet provided with a depository recess, means which may be demountably attached to the cabinet, within the depository recess, for partitioning the recess into a plurality of individual compartments.

The invention possesses other objects and features of advantage which, together with the foregoing, will be specifically set forth in the detailed description of the invention hereunto annexed. It is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the specific form thereof herein shown and described, as various other embodiments thereof may be employed within the scope of the appended claim.

Referring to the drawing:

Figure 1 is a front elevational view of the complete cabinet of my invention. Portions of the View are broken away so as to more clearly disclose the interior construction.

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view of the structure of Figure 1. The plane in which the view is taken is indicated by the line 2--2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a horizontal transverse sectional view of the cabinet. The plane in which the view is taken is indicated by the line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a top plan view of the cabinet. A portion of the view is broken away and shown in section so as to more clearly disclose the in ternal construction; and the plane in which the sectional portion of the view is taken is indicated by the line 4-4 of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a pers ective view of the removable partition member.

.In detail, my invention comprises a body, preferably drawn from a single piece of sheet metal, having. a vertical back 6, side walls 1, a top 8 and a. bottom 9 which enclose, on all but one side, a depository recess within the body. The edges of the side walls 1, the top 8 and the bottom 9, bordering the depository recess, are rolled to form a bead H and the bottom 9, at spaced points adjacent'the rear edge thereof, is provided with a pair of downwardly extending protuberances l2, which, together with the portion of the bead l'l along the front edge of the bottom 9, form supporting feet for engaging a surface upon which the cabinet may be rested. Closing the open side of the depository recess is a sheet metal door l3 having a perimetral rolled bead l4 along its top and side edges and provided along its bottom edge with a rolled bead is in which is secured an axle i? which, as is shown in the lower right-hand corner of Figure 1, is journaled in apertures formed in and adjacent the front edge of both of the side walls 1. The door I3 is thus mounted on the cabinet for pivotal movement to open and close the depository recess. The door is provided, adjacent its upper edge, with a handle l8, which is attached to the door by means of screws is, and with a central opening 2! covering which is a window 22 which may be formed of sheet Celluloid or other similar transparent material, and through which the interior of the cabinet may be viewed without having to open the door I3. The window 22 is preferably held in place by means of screws or rivets 23 which pass through suitable apertures formed in the door l3, the window 22 and in a metal backing ring 24 which borders the opening 2!. A suitable spring catch may be provided for releasably engaging the upper edge of the door with the cabinet body but it has been found that the frictional engagement between the sides and top of the door and the inner surface of the depository recess is quite sufficient to retain the door in its closed position.

Adapted to be removably mounted in the depository recess is a partition element, shown in Figure 5, comprising a unitary piece of sheet metal bent to U-shaped cross-sectional form so as to provide a back 26 having a pair of spaced, parallel, sides or partitions 21 rising from the opposite transverse edges of the back. The ver-.

tical height of the partition element is slightly less than the vertical interior dimension of the depository recess so that the partition element may be easily moved into and out of the recess. The forward edge of each partition 21 is rolled to form a bead 28 in which is secured a rod 29 which protrudes slightly above the planes of the upper and lower ends of the element so as to form locking pins which, when the element is in place in the cabinet, are engaged in suitably positioned apertures in the top 8 and bottom 9 of the cabinet thus locking the partition element in place within the cabinet. It will be necessary, in inserting and removing the partition element into and from the cabinet to flex outwardly the top 8 and bottom 9 so as to clear the extended portions of the rods 29 and allow for their re- 5 lease from or engagement in their seating apertures in the top and bottom of the cabinet. It will be seen that by providing for removal 'of'the partition element from the cabinet the task of scouring or otherwise cleaning the interior of the latter is greatly simplified since the number of sharp corners in which dirt or other matter may lodge is reduced to a minimum.

When in place, the partition element subdivides the depository recess into three compartments 3| of substantially equal size and of dimensions sufficient to receive stacks 32 of sliced bread, the slices being positioned horizontally and superposed one above the other. Resting on the top of each stack 32 is a preferably metal pressure plate 33 of substantial thickness. As its name implied, the pressure plate, by means of its weight, is for the purpose of vertically compressing the stack 32 so that the confronting surfaces of adjacent slices of bread are maintained in firm contact thuspreventing ambient air in the compartment 3! from coming in contact with the said surfaces of the slices and causing undue evaporation of moisture from the slices which would cause the bread to quickly dry out and become stale. In addition, the pressure plates 33, in being substantially of equal size with the cross-sectional dimensions of the compartments 3!, serve to divide the compartments into sections so that the air in the upper section may not freely circulate into the lower section and contact the stacked bread in the latter section.

It has been found that bread stored in the cabinet of my invention will retain its natural moisture for a longer period of time than will sliced bread which is stored in such a manner that air is allowed to contact the cut surfaces of the slices.

Having thus described my invention in detail, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

A cabinet for storing bread comprising a sheet metal body having a vertical back and integral top and bottom and side walls extending from the respective edges of said back to define a depository recess within the body having an open end, said side walls in a lower portion thereof and adjacent the open end of said recess being each provided with a pivot aperture, and said top and bottom near an edge thereof adjacent the open end of said recess being each provided with a pair of spaced apertures, a door having secured to one edge thereof a pivot rod whose opposite ends are extended to enter said side wall pivot apertures so as to pivotally mount the door on the body for movement to close said open end of the depository recess, a piece of sheet metal, bent to U-shaped cross-sectional form to provide a pair of spaced partitions and insertible into said recess to divide the recess into a plurality of compartments in which stacks of sliced bread may be placed, said spaced partitions each having, secured to a vertical edge thereof, a rod which may be engaged in the spaced apertures of said top and bottom so as to secure the said piece 'of sheet metal to said body, and metal plates in said compartments adapted to rest on the tops of said stacks of sliced bread therein for 

